Wen Bai Duiying Chuanti Shucang Wuzong (Forty Volumes)

Author: None
Publisher: Sanqin Press
Publication Date: None
Features: Among the ancient Chinese series, works like the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), the Jin Gu Tu Ji (Comprehensive Library of Ancient and Modern Works), and the Yongle Dadian (Yongle Encyclopedia) are highly representative, considered invaluable treasures rare in the world. However, due to the limitations of the rulers and compilers of the time, as well as the constraints of the era in which they were compiled, these series inevitably had omissions. To help readers gain a comprehensive understanding of Chinese ancient texts, Wen Bai Duiying Chuanshi Shucang Wangku was born, taking the essence of the three major series while not being confined to them. The book is categorized into the traditional four divisions of Confucian classics, historical records, philosophical works, and literary works, with further subcategories under each division. It includes a total of 147 books. The scope of the book is broader than that of the Siku Quanshu and other series. While the Siku Quanshu excluded important classics in certain fields, such as Buddhism and dramatic literature, and failed to include works after the reign of Qianlong, this book breaks through these boundaries, selecting representative works from all subcategories of the four divisions of Chinese ancient texts. For example, famous Buddhist classics like the Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Amitabha Buddha are included, along with masterpieces by renowned playwrights such as Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhenyi, Wang Shifu, and Tang Xianzu. All of this makes the selection of books in this work more systematic and comprehensive. It can be said that this book surpasses the Siku Quanshu in authenticity, the Jin Gu Tu Ji in essence, and the Yongle Dadian in comprehensiveness. To meet the needs of research and reading of ancient texts by various sectors of society, the planners of this work have invited over 200 renowned experts and scholars from the fields of literature, history, philosophy, and culture today, and selected the most representative, valuable, and widely meaningful classics from the four divisions of Chinese ancient texts. They have meticulously translated them into modern vernacular Chinese with great authority. The translations by these scholars are either precise and rigorous, such as Lu Kanru's translation of the Wenxin Daoyi, Mou Shijin's translation of the Sima Fa, and Sun Jimin's translation of the Taibai Yinjing, or lively and engaging, such as Yuan Mei's translation of the Book of Songs. These translations are the result of years of academic research by the scholars and are not only accurate, easy to understand, and stylistically rich but also highly scholarly. After years of compilation and translation, the masters of literature, history, and philosophy have finally completed this cultural project that will be remembered for generations—the Wen Bai Duiying Chuanshi Shucang Wangku.